News 07.27.16
27 July 2016 News
Five people are injured when a semi tractor struck a pickup truck towing a travel trailer on Interstate 41 in Dodge County. It happened Monday morning in the northbound lanes near Highway 67 in the Town of Lomira. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department says a semi operated by 35 year old James Swanson of Durand, WI struck the rear of the travel trailer that was being towed by a pickup driven by 48 year old Brian Dunlap of Newark, IL. The pickup- which carried Dunlap, his 46 year old wife Melissa, and four children- and the travel trailer overturned. A 13 year old in the pickup was flown from the scene by Flight for Life to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. Melissa Dunlap and the other children were all transported to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du lac. Brian Dunlap and Swanson were uninjured. The accident remains under investigation.
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A Milwaukee teenager convicted in a car chase that ended in a crash on busy East Johnson Street last summer is going to prison. Fond du Lac judge Robert Wirtz sentenced 17 year old Matthew Hinkle to nine years in prison and three years extended supervision. The judge also ordered two years probation. Police say Hinkle car jacked a vehicle in Milwaukee and drove the stolen car to Fond du Lac, rammed into a squad car at the North Park Avenue Kwik Trip store and fled. The chase continued on Highway 23 with speeds up to 120 miles an hour, ending when Hinkle lost control and crashed the vehicle into a tree near Johnson and National Avenue. He fled on foot and was apprehended a short time later.
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The widow of a man killed by police during a standoff at a Neenah motorcycle shop is suing the officers for wrongful death. In a lawsuit filed Monday, Theresa Mason-Funk says the officers used unnecessary and excessive force when they shot Michael Funk at Eagle Nation Cycles last December. Funk was a hostage and was shot by officers Craig Hoffer and Robert Ross while trying to escape. Neenah City Attorney Jim Godlewski says the lawsuit will be referred to the city’s defense counsel. He had no comment on the lawsuit itself. The Wisconsin Department of Justice determined the officers thought Funk was the armed hostage taker and was a threat, and they weren’t criminally responsible for his killing. The man accused in the standoff, Brian Flatoff, faces trial.
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About two weeks before the next statewide election, those in charge of Wisconsin’s new voting information website are making last-minute changes in order to ensure the site does what it’s meant to do. The month-old site, MyVote.Wi.Gov, was undergoing fixes and updates Friday afternoon before the Aug. 9 primaries. State Elections Commission officials say upgrades are likely to continue this week. The largest repair on Friday fixed a glitch that made it so no one in Green Bay could look up his or her polling place on the website. Elections Commission officials worked with the Green Bay City Clerk’s office to resolve the issue after a USA Today Network-Wisconsin reporter found that part of the site wasn’t working for Green Bay residents.
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The number of craft breweries has more than doubled in the last five years, making those branded beer tap handles behind the bar a big business. Breweries are pulling out the stops to attract drinkers, with cone heads, zombies, beards, bananas and even lighted handles. AJS Tap Handles’ business has mirrored the breweries’ growth, so they are expanding their Random Lake factory by 16,500 square feet. Their 45 employees make about 500,000 handles out of resin, metal and wood a year. Lead designer Cole Krueger advises beer makers to go no wider than three inches and stay under a pound. He also says the best ones are the simplest with bold branding. There were 2,033 craft breweries in 2011 compared to 4,144 last year, according to the Brewers Association.
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A 20-year-old man accused of killing a woman in a random drive-by shooting is found competent to stand trial in Milwaukee County. Zachary Hays is charged with first degree reckless homicide for allegedly killing his neighbor, 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez, in a Milwaukee suburb in early May. Hays also faces charges in the death of 44-year-old Tracy Czaczkowski later that day. Hays is accused of killing her in a drive-by shooting on the interstate as she was returning to Illinois with her family. A Milwaukee judge ordered a competency evaluation of Hays in June after the defense raised concerns about his mental health. The court found Hays competent to proceed Tuesday after a doctor’s report found he has capacity to understand court proceedings and assist in his own defense.
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